Self-adjusting clamp

ABSTRACT

Provided is a clamp that can be attached to a tripod or other piece of equipment and which can hold rails for firearms, sights, scopes, parts, and the like, therein. The clamp is self-adjusting due to a compressible cam lever that enables an amount of give or play when clamping onto a rail or other object. The clamp also includes a scroll gear assembly that enables the compressible cam lever to drive opposing jaw plates toward and away from each other thereby clamping and releasing rails and other objects.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No.63/239,511, filed on Sep. 1, 2021, in the US Patent and TrademarkOffice, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated byreference for all purposes.

BACKGROUND

A dovetail rail or dovetail mount refers to sliding rail system that canbe used for mounting firearms, sights, accessories, and the like, to amounting bracket, often referred to as a plate. The mounting bracket mayinclude a mechanism for attachment to a tripod such as a rifle-basedtripod or a camera tripod. Examples of the different dovetail railsystems include a MIL-STD-1913 Picatinny rail, a North American TreatyOrganization (NATO) Accessory rail, a Weaver rail, an ARCA SWISS® rail,and the like. The Picatinny rail, Weaver rail, and the NATO Accessoryrail are similar in size. In particular, the Weaver rails has the sameoutside dimensions as the Picatinny and NATO Accessory rails. Meanwhile,the ARCA SWISS rail is significantly larger than the Picatinny rail andthe NATO accessory rail.

Recently, there have been efforts to manufacture mounting bracketscapable of holding multiple types of rails. However, one of thedrawbacks of these related systems is that they require a bolt/screwthat runs in between the sliding jaws which hold the rail in place. Thisprevents these clamps from holding onto a NATO Accessory rail which mustrest flat against the surface of the mounting platform. Another issuewith related mounting systems is that they require spring washers to beadded to the bolt/screw in order to enable the mounting platform to holdonto different-sized rails when they do not fit perfectly within thejaws. However, this process creates a loose fit around the rail leavingthe item being held to wobble and generally be unsteady.

SUMMARY

The example embodiments are directed to a clamp systems that can be usedas a mounting platform for different types of rails. The clamp systemmay include a lever, such as a cam lever, that interacts with a scrollgear assembly built into a base of the clamp and without the need for abolt/screw running through the top of the base plate. Furthermore, thelever may be compressible thereby providing a spring force that canenable the jaws of the clamp to self-adjust to different-sized railswhile still holding the different-sized rails snugly. For example, whenthe lever is compressed and then released, elastic force may return thecompressible cam lever back to its original position creating a springforce that pushes outward from the compressible cam lever.

The clamp system may include multiple jaws including a larger set ofjaws capable of clamping onto larger-sized rails, such as ARCA SWISS®type rails, and a smaller set of jaws capable of clamping ontosmaller-sized rails such as Picatinny and NATO Accessory rails. Anotherfeature that is available is the use of a dual-sided lug that protrudesfrom a top surface of a base of the clamp. When protruding, the lug canbe used to hold onto a Picatinny rail. When flipped over, the lug isflat with the rest of the base of the clamp enabling the smaller jaws toclamp onto a NATO Accessory rail or a Weaver rail that does not have anopening for the lug.

According to an aspect of an example embodiment, provided is a clampapparatus that may include one or more of a lever in contact with aslidable lever rack, first and second jaw racks attached to first andsecond jaw plates, respectively, and a scroll gear that contacts theslidable lever rack and the first and second jaw racks, wherein, whenthe lever is turned, the slidable lever rack may drive the scroll gearwhich drives the first and second jaw racks to slide in oppositedirections thereby causing the first and second jaw plates to movetoward and/or away from each other.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, provided is aclamp apparatus that may include one or more of a lever, first andsecond jaw plates with opposing jaws, and a scroll gear assembly thatincludes a first rack in contact with the lever, a second rack incontact with the first jaw plate, a third rack in contact with thesecond jaw plate, and a scroll gear in contact with the first, second,and third racks, wherein, when the lever is turned, the scroll gearassembly may drive the slidable jaw plates in opposite directionsthereby causing the opposing jaws to move toward and/or away from eachother.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, provided is anapparatus that may include a compressible cam lever that comprises ahandle, a round-shaped section comprising a curved surface that curvesback towards the handle, and an opening disposed at an end of the curvedsurface, a slidable rack that includes a wheel attached to an endthereof which contacts the curved surface of the round-shaped section ofthe compressible cam lever, and a scroll gear that contacts the slidablerack.

According to an aspect of another example embodiment, provided is acompressible cam lever that may include a handle, a round-shaped sectioncomprising a flexible curved surface that curves back towards the handleand protrudes outward, and an opening disposed between an end of theflexible curved surface and the handle.

Other features and aspects may be apparent from the following detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Features and advantages of the example embodiments, and the manner inwhich the same are accomplished, will become more readily apparent withreference to the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1A is a diagram illustrating a clamp in an open position inaccordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating the clamp of FIG. 1A in a closedposition in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 1C is a diagram illustrating a side-perspective view of the clampshown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, in accordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 1D is a diagram illustrating a detailed view of the grooves andedges of the jaw and the base in FIG. 1C, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating an underneath view of two jaw platesof the clamp in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 2B is a diagram illustrating an underneath view of a scroll gearassembly attached to the two jaw plates, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2C is a diagram illustrating movement of the scroll gear assemblyand the two jaw plates of FIG. 2B, in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 2D is a diagram illustrating a protrusion extending from a top of ajaw rack in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIGS. 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating examples of a cam lever inaccordance with example embodiments.

FIG. 3C is a diagram illustrating the cam lever and an additional rackof the scroll gear assembly in accordance with an example embodiment.

FIG. 3D is a diagram illustrating the cam lever and the fully assembledscroll gear assembly of the clamp in accordance with an exampleembodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a tripod on which the clamp may bemounted in accordance with an example embodiment.

Throughout the drawings and the detailed description, unless otherwisedescribed, the same drawing reference numerals will be understood torefer to the same elements, features, and structures. The relative sizeand depiction of these elements may be exaggerated or adjusted forclarity, illustration, and/or convenience.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In the following description, specific details are set forth in order toprovide a thorough understanding of the various example embodiments. Itshould be appreciated that various modifications to the embodiments willbe readily apparent to those skilled in the art, and the genericprinciples defined herein may be applied to other embodiments andapplications without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure. Moreover, in the following description, numerous details areset forth for the purpose of explanation. However, one of ordinary skillin the art should understand that embodiments may be practiced withoutthe use of these specific details. In other instances, well-knownstructures and processes are not shown or described in order not toobscure the description with unnecessary detail. Thus, the presentdisclosure is not intended to be limited to the embodiments shown, butis to be accorded the widest scope consistent with the principles andfeatures disclosed herein.

The example embodiments are directed to a self-adjusting clamp that hasclamping surfaces, also referred to as jaws, for multiple sized objectsor dovetails. The main throw lever is a cam lever which is flexiblethereby providing a spring action which allows the mechanism to bend andself-adjust to a wide window of out-of-spec or multiple brands ofdovetails. As an example, a 0.040 inch self-adjustment window may beprovided but this can be changed with a larger lever or overall largerclamp body. In some embodiments, the clamp may include multiple sets ofjaws including a first set of jaws for clamping onto a larger-sizedrails such as an ARCA SWISS® type rail (e.g., approximately 38 mm or 1.5inches wide). There is not an exact specification for the ARCA SWISS®type rail, so dimensions vary wildly between manufacturers. However, theself-adjusting characteristics of the clamp which are created by thespring action of the lever enables the jaws to securely clamp ontodifferent-sized rails in a secure fashion. The clamp may also include asecond set of jaws for clamping onto smaller-sized rails such asPicatinny and NATO Accessory rails (e.g., approximately 21 mm or 0.835inches).

The lever makes contact with a lever gear plate that has a lengthadjusting roller piston. This allows the user or manufacturer thecapability to adjust the clamping window. Turning a rear screw will addor reduce clamping force by adjusting the length of the roller piston.This can be done while the clamp is fully assembled. The roller reducesfriction between the curved end of the lever and the gear plate andthereby extends the life of the clamp and makes the lever easier tomanipulate.

The lever gear plate makes contact with a circular center gear, alsoreferred to herein as a scroll gear. The center gear is further incontact and controls two mirrored spring loaded gears which are timed tomove in equal distances to each other. The springs force from the leverforces the jaws to spring open when the throw lever swings open. The topportion of these two gears has a scroll gear pattern. The scroll gearpattern (i.e., a diagonal pattern) which makes contact with the jawplates that hold the exterior clamping jaws. The clamping jaws areself-centering making equal parts contact when clamping onto apart/dovetail. They open in/out similar to a vise.

The top surface of the clamp has a small reversible stop-block that maybe implemented in the form of a reversible lug. If a user is using theclamp to hold a Picatinny rail, the block can act as a retention lug.Here, the lug protrudes outward and can fit into a hole of the Picatinnyrail thereby providing extra hold when the Picatinny rail is placed ontothe top surface of the clamp. The user can flip the stop-block if thelug is not needed. In this example, the other side of the lug mayinclude a smooth/flat surface that is flush with a top surface of thebase of the clamp on which the jaw plates slide. Therefore, if the useris using a NATO Accessory rail which has no female lug slots, the NATOAccessory rail can fit flatly against a bottom of the top surface of thebase of the clamp. Related clamping mechanisms use a bolt that runs inbetween the jaws thereby preventing a smooth/flat surface on a topsurface of the mounting platforms thereof and likewise preventing themounting platform from clamping onto a NATO Accessory rail.

According to various embodiments, the clamp may be mounted onto tripodball heads or tripods which have their own methods of movement. There isalso a possibility to use the clamp for work holding in the CNCmachining industry. For example, the clamp could be used as aself-centering vise for holding manufacturing parts.

In some embodiments, the main throw lever, also known as a cam lever, ismade out of steel and is a letter J shape including a handle portion onone end and a elliptical-shaped portion on the other end. However, theelliptical-shaped portion is not a complete ellipse / circle but insteadincludes a gap or an opening between an edge of the curved portion andthe handle of the lever. This is helpful because it gives flex. Theplate being held by the jaws can be too big or too small, and the camlever can self-adjust to hold the plate tight because of the flexprovided by the cam lever. The base of the clamp may include a hole inthe middle which can be used to attach the clamp to the tripod or otherequipment. At all times, the jaws stay an equal amount of distance awayfrom the center of the clamp.

FIG. 1A illustrates a clamp 100 in an open position in accordance withan example embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1A, the clamp 100 includes abase 110 or housing and a cam lever 120 that is attached to the base(e.g., by a screw, bolt, nut, etc.) that is not shown. The clamp 100also includes opposing jaw plates 130 a and 130 b with two pairs of jawstherein including a first pair of jaws 131 a and 131 b for clamping ontolarger rails, such as an ARCA SWISS® type rail, and a second pair ofjaws 132 a and 132 b for clamping onto smaller rails such as Picatinnyrails and NATO Accessory rails. In some embodiments, the individual jaws131 a, 132 a, 131 b, and 132 b, may include tongues that protrudeoutward thereof to create a better hold on the rail/part that is beingclamped onto.

In FIG. 1A, the cam lever 120 is in the open position. In the openposition, the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b are far enough apart that thefirst pair of jaws 131 a and 131 b and the second pair of jaws 132 a and132 b are unable to clamp onto the rails. Therefore, the rails can beremoved or taken out of the corresponding clamp 100.

The base 110 also includes a top surface 111 that includes a hole 113 ina center thereof that enables the clamp 100 to be attached to a tripodball head. The jaw plates 130 a and 130 b remain equi-distant from thehole 113 and the center of the top surface 111 of the clamp 100 at alltimes. The base 110 also includes raised surfaces 112 a and 112 b whichare designed to mate with grooves located on each side of the respectivejaw plates 130 a and 130 b thereby securely holding onto the jaw plates130 a and 130 b in a lateral direction with respect to each other andthus preventing the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b from moving any otherdirection other than towards or away from each other. The top surface111 of the base 110 also includes a reversible lug 114 which in theexample of FIG. 1A is protruding outward from the top surface 111 of thebase 110 enabling the reversible lug 114 to attach to an opening withina Picatinny rail. Although not shown, the reversible lug 114 may bepulled out by hand and flipped over onto its other side which may be aflat surface that sits flush with the rest of the top surface 111 whenpushed back in.

FIG. 1B illustrates the clamp 100 of FIG. 1A in a closed position inaccordance with an example embodiment. Referring to FIG. 1B, a user hasmoved the lever 120 toward the base 110 causing the jaw plates 130 a and130 b, and the corresponding pairs of jaws 131 a and 131 b and 132 a and132 b to move towards each other in a clamping manner as indicated bythe arrows. The user is free to move the lever 120 back and forthbetween the open and the closed positions without much friction from theremaining components of the clamp 100 as are further described in theexamples of FIGS. 2A-2C and 3A-3D.

FIG. 1C illustrates a side-perspective view of the clamp 100 shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B, in accordance with example embodiments. Referring toFIG. 1C, a single jaw plate 130 is shown but it should be appreciatedthat the jaw plate 130 is applicable to either jaw plate 130 a and 130 bin FIGS. 1A and 1B. As shown in FIG. 1C, the jaw plate 130 has a bottomsurface 133 that slides along a top surface 111 of the base 110. Thebase 110 also includes a raised surface 112 that sites on both sides ofthe jaw plate 130. Furthermore, each lateral side of the jaw plate 130has a series of grooves and edges that mate with corresponding groovesand edges of the base 110 enabling a secure lateral fit for the jawplate 130 (i.e., preventing it from moving laterally with respect to theother jaw plate (not shown). Therefore, the jaw plates are only able tomove toward and away from each other.

In particular, the base 110 includes a first edge 116 that protrudesoutward in a lateral direction from about the top of the raised surface112. The base also includes a recess 117 and a second edger 118 thatprotrudes outward even farther than the first edge 116. Meanwhile, thejaw plate 130 includes a first edge 134 that protrudes outward and restson top of the raised surface 112 of the base. The jaw plate 130 alsoincludes a second edge 136 and a recess 135 between the first edge 134and the second edge 136. The jaw plate 130 also includes a second recess137. Here, the recess 135, the second edge 136, and the second recess137 mate with the first edge 116, the recess 117, and the second edge118 of the base 110 of the clamp 100. This same arrangement may beformed on both sides of the jaw plate 130 thereby securing the jaw plate130 from moving laterally.

As further described below and shown in the examples of FIGS. 2A-2C and3A-3D, the base 110 of the clamp may house a gear assembly (e.g., ascroll gear assembly) which includes a plurality of racks or plates forinterconnecting the lever 120 with the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b,without the need for a bolt/screw to be positioned between the jawplates 130 a and 130 b.

FIG. 2A illustrates an underneath view of the two jaw plates 130 a and130 b of the clamp 100 in accordance with an example embodiment.Referring to FIG. 2A, the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b include diagonalgrooves 138 a and 138 b, respectively. The diagonal grooves 138 a and138 b are in opposite diagonal directions to each other. The diagonalpattern enables force to be applied in one direction (i.e., up or downin the example of FIG. 2A), causing the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b tomove in a perpendicular direction (i.e., left or right in the example ofFIG. 2A), because the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b are held in placelaterally by the grooves and edges of the base 110 as shown in FIG. 1C.

FIG. 2B illustrates an underneath view of a scroll gear assemblyattached to the two jaw plates 130 a and 130 b, in accordance with anexample embodiment. Referring to FIG. 2B, two jaw racks 140 a and 140 bhave been attached to or otherwise integrated with the two jaw plates130 a and 130 b, respectively. The jaw racks 140 a and 140 b include atoothed edge 142 a and 142 b on one side, respectively. Furthermore, acenter gear 150 may be attached to the hole 113 in the center of thebase 110. The center gear 150 (also referred to as a scroll gear) mayturn clockwise and counterclockwise depending on a force applied fromthe lever 120, as further shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3Cand 3D.

Like the jaw racks 140 a and 140 b, the center gear 150 includes teeth152 that surround the outer edge of the center gear 150 enabling thecenter gear 150 to contact the teeth of the jaw racks 140 a and 140 band turn the jaw racks 140 a and 140 b which are attached to the jawplates 130 a and 130 b, respectively. In particular, the jaw racks 140 aand 140 b may include a protrusion 141 a on a top thereof as shown inthe bottom left corner of FIG. 2B. The protrusion 141 a may fit into adiagonal groove (e.g., diagonal groove 138 a, etc.) of the jaw plate 130a. Although not shown in FIG. 2B, it should be appreciated that the jawrack 140 b may include a similar protrusion sticking up from its topsurface and enabling the jaw rack 140 b to fit into the diagonal groove138 b of the jaw plate 130 b shown.

In operation, the center gear 150 turns in a clockwise direction causingthe jaw racks 140 a and 140 b to move in opposite directions withrespect to each other. In particular, the jaw rack 140 b moves downwardwhile attached within the diagonal groove 138 b of the jaw plate 130 b.Here, the jaw plate 130 b is held in place laterally as shown in FIG.1C. Therefore, the jaw plate 130 b moves outward only as a result of thejaw rack 140 b moving downward as shown in FIG. 2B. Likewise, the jawrack 140 a moves upward while attached within the diagonal groove 138 aof the jaw plate 130 a. Here, the jaw plate 130 is also held in placelaterally as shown in FIG. 1C, thereby preventing the jaw plate 130 afrom moving in a lateral direction. Instead, the jaw plate 130 a movesoutward as a result of the jaw rack 140 a moving upward as shown in FIG.2B. Thus, the two jaw plates 130 a and 130 b move in opposite directionswith respect to each other, when the center gear 150 is turned in aclockwise direction. This essentially releases the jaws of the clamp 100as shown in FIG. 1A.

FIG. 2C illustrates a result of the movement of the scroll gear assemblyperformed in FIG. 2B, causing the two jaw plates 130 a and 130 b to movean equal distance (d) away from each other and away from the hole 113 inthe center of the clamp, in accordance with an example embodiment. Theamount of distance (d) that the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b move withrespect to each other can be modified by using larger parts or largerdiagonal angles.

It should be appreciated that although not shown in the examples ofFIGS. 2A-2C, if the center gear 150 were to be driven in acounterclockwise direction, the operation would work in reverse causingthe jaw racks 140 a and 140 b to be turned in opposite directions by thecenter gear 150 thereby causing the jaw plates 130 a and 130 b to movein opposite directions (i.e., towards each other). Therefore, the jawsof the clamp 100, which are positioned on the other side (not shown) ofthe jaw plates 130 a and 130 b, may close/clamp onto a rail or a partvia such operation.

As further shown and described with respect to FIGS. 3A-3D, the scrollgear assembly according to various embodiments includes a third rack,also referred to herein as a lever rack that provides an interconnectionbetween the cam lever 120 and the center gear 150 thereby enabling thecam lever 120 to be thrown by a user and drive the center gear 150 ineither a clockwise (opening the clamp) direction or a counterclockwise(closing the clamp) direction.

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate examples of the cam lever 120 in accordancewith example embodiments. In the example embodiments, the cam lever 120may be referred to as a compressible lever because the design of the camlever 120, specifically the unclosed elliptical or circular shapedsection at the end of the cam lever 120 provides a spring force. Thus,the cam lever 120 itself can compress (i.e., bend) to accommodate forparts or rails held by the jaws of the clamp that are not perfectly thesame size. In some embodiments, the cam lever 120 may be of uniformconstruction and may be comprised of steel or another metallic material.It should also be appreciated that the cam lever 120 may be composed ofother materials such as ceramic, wood, plastic, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the cam lever 120 includes a handle tip 125, ahandle 124, and a rounded section 126 (also referred to as anelliptical-shaped or circular-shaped section). The rounded section 126includes a round shape, such as an elliptical shape or a circular shapethat includes a curved section 121 that bends back towards the handle124 at an intermediate portion/position of the handle 124. The roundsection 126 is not a complete circle or ellipse, but instead isincomplete because an opening 122 is designed at an end of the curvedsection 121 that allows the end of the curved section 121 to move freelyin a lateral direction creating a spring force. For example, as shown inFIG. 3B, the curved section may be at an initial position 121 a and maymove back and forth between a bent position 121 b and the initialposition 121 a based on force applied to the outer surface thereof. Asfurther described with respect to FIG. 3C, the cam lever 120 may includea hole 123 for receiving a bolt or screw to attach the cam lever 120 tothe base 110 of the clamp 100 described herein.

As further shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the cam lever 120 is aself-compressing lever because the tip end of the curved section 121 isable to move back and forth. When compressed into the bent position 121b, the curved section 121 holds a force therein. When the force beingapplied to the curved section 121 is released while the curved section121 is in bent position 121 b, elastic force within the cam lever 120(and the curved section, etc.) causes the curved section 121 to springback from the bent position 121 b and return to its initial position 121a. As will be appreciated, if a part/rail is being held by the jaws ofthe clamp 100, the part/rail will not need to fit perfectly into thejaws because of the extra “play” provided by the spring force of the camlever 120. During initial testing, the cam lever 120 provided anadditional 0.04 inches of play or “self-adjustment”, but this could beincreased or decreased by increasing or decreasing a size of the partsthat are used to construct the clamp 100.

FIG. 3C illustrates the cam lever 120 and a cam lever rack 160 of thescroll gear assembly in accordance with an example embodiment. Referringto FIG. 3C, the cam lever rack 160 is similar to the jaw racks 140 a and140 b shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C. Here, the cam lever rack 160 includes atoothed edge 162 that contacts the toothed edge of the center gear 150.The cam lever rack 160 also includes an attachment 164 that isintegrated with the cam lever rack 160 and which holds a roller piston166 on an exterior side of the cam lever rack 160. The roller piston 166is a wheel shape and made of steel, aluminum, brass, or other compositematerial. The roller piston 166 can roll along the curved section 121(i.e., the curved surface of the curved section 121) of the cam lever120. The roller piston 166 prevents the curved section 121 of the camlever 120, which is metal, from contacting the cam lever rack 160, whichis also metal, thereby improving the durability and life of the parts ofthe clamp 100. The cam lever rack 160 also includes a threaded elementthat is referred to herein as a stopper 168 integrated therein thatworks as a stopper when the cam lever rack 160 is pushed to the right.

In operation, the cam lever rack 160 slides left and right. Inparticular, the closing of the cam lever 120 (i.e., pushing it towardsthe base 110), pushes the curved section 121 downward causing the rollerpiston 166 to turn in a clockwise direction and move toward the rightand push against the rest of the cam lever rack 160 thereby causing thecam lever rack 160 to move slightly in a horizontal direction toward theright. However, the stopper 168 prevents restricts the movement of thecam lever rack 160 to just a small distance. This motion likewise causesthe curved section 121 to bend as shown in FIG. 3B.

When the handle 124 of the cam lever 120 is pulled up, the curvedsection 121 of the cam lever 120 also moves upward. This action causethe roller piston 166 to roll in a counterclockwise direction and alsomove a small distance in the opposite horizontal direction (i.e.,towards the left) thereby sliding the cam lever rack 160 in the oppositehorizontal direction. Although not shown in FIG. 3C, there is an openingthat allows the curved section 121 of the cam lever 120 to exit the base110 during such operation. Here, a spring force may push the rollerpiston 166 to roll along the curved section 121 of the cam lever 120creating a releasing force which pushes the cam lever rack 160 back tothe left. For example, one or more springs may be positioned on theright side of the cam lever rack 160 that pushes the cam lever rack 160and the roller piston 166 attached thereto back towards the cam lever120 when the cam lever 120 is opened. As another example, one or moresprings 310 may be positioned above the jaw rack 140 a and one or moresprings 320 may be positioned below the jaw rack 140 b causing the jawrack 140 a to push downward and the jaw rack 140 b to push upward whenthe cam lever 120 is opened thus causing the center gear 150 to turncounter-clockwise and push the cam lever rack 160 and the roller piston166 attached thereto back towards the cam lever 120. Otherimplementations are also possible.

FIG. 3D illustrates the cam lever 120 and the scroll gear assembly ofthe clamp 100 in accordance with an example embodiment. Referring toFIG. 3D, the fully-assembled scroll gear assembly includes the centergear 150, the jaw racks 140 a and 140 b, and the cam lever rack 160.When the cam lever 120 is pulled upward and away from the base 110 ofthe clamp, the cam lever rack 160 will move towards the left driving thecenter gear 150 to move counterclockwise. This action causes the centergear 150 to cause the jaw plate 140 b to slide upward and the jaw plate140 a to slide downward. When the jaw plate 140 b slides upward and thejaw plate 140 a slides downward, this causes the jaws on the opposingsides to move outward and away from the center hole 113 of the clampthereby releasing anything that is being held by either sets of jaws.

Likewise, when the cam lever 120 and pushed downward towards the base110 of the clamp 100, the cam lever rack 160 will move toward the rightin a restricted manner due to the stopper 168. This movement causes thecam lever rack 160 to drive the center gear 150 in a clockwisedirection, which likewise causes the jaw rack 140 b to move downward andthe jaw rack 140 a to move upward. When the jaw plate 140 b slidesdownward and the jaw plate 140 a slides upward, this causes the jaws onthe opposing sides to move inward toward each other and inward towardthe center hole 113 of the clamp thereby clamping onto anything thatapproximately fits in either set of jaws.

FIG. 4 illustrates a tripod apparatus 400 after a plurality of tripodlegs have been extended in accordance with an example embodiment. Thetripod apparatus 400 may include three legs, and may include a support410 for holding and elevating a piece of equipment such as a camera, ascope, a rifle, or the like. Each of the legs may be collapsible orotherwise retractable. The support 410 may include an attachmentmechanism 412 that fits into the center hole 113 of the clamp 100 shownand described herein. Thus, the clamp 100 can be attached to the tripod400 shown in FIG. 4 . Furthermore, when attached to the tripod 400, theclamp 100 can be used to secure a firearm, a sight, a scope, a part, apiece, or the like, there within.

The above descriptions and illustrations of processes herein should notbe considered to imply a fixed order for performing the process steps.Rather, the process steps may be performed in any order that ispracticable, including simultaneous performance of at least some steps.Although the disclosure has been described in connection with specificexamples, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions,and alterations apparent to those skilled in the art can be made to thedisclosed embodiments without departing from the spirit and scope of thedisclosure as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A clamp apparatus, comprising: a lever in contactwith a slidable lever rack; first and second jaw racks attached to firstand second jaw plates, respectively; and a scroll gear that contacts theslidable lever rack and the first and second jaw racks, wherein, whenthe lever is turned, the slidable lever rack drives the scroll gearwhich drives the first and second jaw racks to slide in oppositedirections causing the first and second jaw plates to move toward and/oraway from each other.
 2. The clamp apparatus of claim 1, wherein thefirst jaw plate comprises a first diagonal groove embedded in anunderside thereof and the second jaw plate comprises a second diagonalgroove embedded in an underside thereof that is in an opposite directionfrom the first diagonal groove.
 3. The clamp apparatus of claim 2,wherein the first jaw rack comprises an attachment that slides withinthe first diagonal groove of the first jaw plate, and the second jawrack comprises an attachment that slides within the second diagonalgroove of the second jaw plate.
 4. The clamp apparatus of claim 1,wherein the lever comprises a cam lever that contacts a roller attachedto the slidable lever rack.
 5. The clamp apparatus of claim 4, whereinthe cam lever comprises a J shape with an opening at an end of thelever.
 6. The clamp apparatus of claim 4, wherein the cam levercomprises a flexible end that bends when external pressure is applied.7. The clamp apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first and second jawplates comprise a first set of opposing jaws for clamping a plate withrails that are more than 35 mm apart.
 8. The clamp apparatus of claim 7,wherein the first and second jaw plates further comprise a second set ofopposing jaws, below the first set of opposing jaws, for clamping aplate with rails that are less than 25 mm apart.
 9. The clamp apparatusof claim 1, further comprising a base that includes a top surface, andwherein bottom surfaces of the first and second jaw plates slide alongthe top surface of the base of the clamp.
 10. The clamp apparatus ofclaim 9, wherein the base further comprises a two-sided lug that isattached to the top surface of the base.
 11. The clamp apparatus ofclaim 10, wherein a first side of the two-sided lug comprises aprotruding support that protrudes outward from the top surface of thebase, and a second side of the two-side lug comprises a flat surfacethat is parallel with the top surface of the base.
 12. The clampapparatus of claim 1, wherein when the scroll gear turns it causes thefirst and second jaw racks to slide in opposite directions.
 13. A clampapparatus, comprising: a lever; first and second jaw plates withopposing jaws; and a scroll gear assembly that includes a first rack incontact with the lever, a second rack in contact with the first jawplate, a third rack in contact with the second jaw plate, and a scrollgear in contact with the first, second, and third racks, wherein, whenthe lever is turned, the scroll gear assembly drives the slidable jawplates in opposite directions causing the opposing jaws to move towardand/or away from each other.
 14. The clamp apparatus of claim 13,wherein the first and second jaw plates comprise first and seconddiagonal grooves embedded therein, respectively, the second and thirdracks comprise first and second protruding attachments which fit intothe first and second diagonal grooves, respectively.
 15. The clampapparatus of claim 14, wherein the first and second protrudingattachments slide within the first and second diagonal grooves,respectively, when the second and third racks are turned by the scrollgear assembly.
 16. The clamp apparatus of claim 13, wherein the levercomprises a cam lever that contacts a roller attached to the slidablelever rack.
 17. The clamp apparatus of claim 16, wherein the cam levercomprises a J shape with an opening at an end of the cam lever.
 18. Theclamp apparatus of claim 16, wherein the cam lever comprises a flexibleend that bends when external pressure is applied.
 19. The clampapparatus of claim 13, further comprising a base that includes a topsurface, and wherein bottom surfaces of the first and second jaw platesslide along the top surface of the base.
 20. The clamp apparatus ofclaim 19, wherein the base further comprises a two-sided lug that isattached to the top surface of the base with one side of the two-sidedlug being a flat surface that is parallel with the top surface of thebase.